Phineas
by Funeral Lilies
Summary: Slash, PhineasRegulus. Phineas Nigellus feels alone in the empty guestroom, and misses the chats he used to have with the young, beautiful Regulus before the boy had gone to Hogwarts...


**PHINEAS**

**Fandom: Harry Potter**

**Pairing: Phineas Nigellus/Regulus Black**

**Rating: K**

**Set: During Regulus' fifth year at Hogwarts.**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns all characters.**

**Summary: Phineas Nigellus feels alone in the empty guestroom in Number Twelve, and misses the chats he used to have with young Regulus, while the boy was still living at home with his parents...**

**Author's Note: It's not as squicky as it sounds... ;) It's very mild slash, but still, don't read it if you know you won't like it. I don't know why I came up with this weird pairing, but I guess it's all because of what we learned about Regulus' personality in DH. Right now, I'm trying out some pairings I've never read or written about before, just to broaden my horizons a bit and because it's fun to explore other characters than the Malfoys, and other places than Malfoy Manor and Hogwarts. Anyway, this is one of those, to me, brand new pairings... Reviews are, as always, much appreciated:)**

It was past midnight, and in the gloomy guestroom on the second floor, silence had fallen long ago. Nobody was sleeping in the two beds – in fact, he was sure the last people to stay in this room were the young Bellatrix and her husband, half a year before their wedding. Not that they had slept much – he had felt forced to withdraw to his portrait in the Headmaster's Office, the girl's high-pitched moans echoing in his ears all night. To this day, he could not for his life understand how anybody, not to mention a descendant of his, could have the indecency to act like she had done, while staying as a guest in the house of her relatives. Shocking as it was, Phineas often thought to himself that all young people would have acted like Bellatrix and that husband of hers, who apparently was a member of the noble Lestrange family. It was the way of the young, and he despised anybody leading such a life. At Hogwarts, while he had still been alive, it had been just the same – the students didn't put enough effort into their schoolwork, he supposed they were all too busy thinking about Quidditch and Hogsmeade visits and pretty girls. Absolutely despicable. He himself had been a top student; never absent, never complaining about the way things were done, like some good-for-nothing Gryffindors had dared to do during his time as Headmaster. Of course, the good old punishments were still practised while he was at school. In his opinion, it had been a grave mistake to stop using them. Hogwarts just wasn't what it had been, not with Dumbledore running the place. According to Phineas, Dumbledore was far too kind towards those students who had broken the school rules or in any way misbehaved. Not even one week ago, Sirius, the blood traitor who had brought shame on the entire House of Black, and was now disowned by his mother and no longer staying at Number Twelve – that insufferable boy, had been asked to see the Headmaster along with one of his Gryffindor friends, since they had both tricked a few Slytherin first-years into drinking a dangerous potion that made it necessary for the children to stay in the Hospital Wing for a week at least. Both boys had expressed their so-called deep regrets, and Dumbledore, ignoring Phineas' loud attempts to make Dumbledore understand the need to have them both expelled, simply told them not to do it again. At the thought of it - not to mention the thought of the humiliating moment afterwards, when Dumbledore had turned around and Sirius made a rude hand gesture towards Phineas' portrait as he walked out of the office with his friend – Phineas felt as though the blood was seething in his veins, even though he was only a painting now and had neither blood nor veins anymore. It had been the right decision of the boy's parents for sure, disowning him and refusing to ever speak to him again. Sirius was one of far too many stigmas in the family, and Phineas' cheeks reddened, as he thought of some of the others – one was his own sister, the other one of his sons... It was dreadfully embarrassing, all of it, and although he had been dead for so long, one of the other Headmasters in the portraits in Dumbledore's office had dared to bring up the subject of his sister Isla not even six months ago, which proved what Phineas had always believed – nothing was more important, than the blood. The blood was what made the wizard, and there was no way of escaping that fact.

From the hall outside, he could hear a muffled noise. Probably, it was just Kreacher the House-elf, cleaning up or sneaking around looking for things to steal. Phineas had never had very high thoughts about House-elves, no matter how handy they could be in a household, and while he had been alive, he had taken pride in never ever memorising a single House-elf's name. However, to his annoyance, he was now very well aware of what the House-elf in Number Twelve was called. The boy had told him many times, and somehow, the things _he_ said seemed to get stuck in Phineas' mind even if nothing else did.

His name was Regulus, just like one of Phineas' own grandsons – but unlike the grandson, who was now dead, this youth was radiantly beautiful, with huge expressive eyes and ravenous hair, pale skin and a lithe, slender body. Phineas had understood, by overhearing conversations in the guestroom, that Regulus was his mother's darling, and that both parents treated him just like one should treat a good son. It delighted him, that there was at least one young boy alive who was not as insufferable and tedious as all other adolescents. In fact, he rather liked young Regulus... There had always been something special about him; the sweet smile from his childhood years, and the honesty in his eyes as he came into the guestroom wanting Phineas' opinion on this or that. Often, he came just to talk about the House-elf or about his _dear _brother – Phineas listened eagerly, because it was _his _voice and _his _true feelings, but in his opinion, Regulus was far too preoccupied with worrying about why him and Sirius had drifted apart when Regulus came to Hogwarts. Sirius was a blood traitor just like Isla had been, and Regulus should know better than to associate with him. Now, fortunately, the problem was solved since Sirius had gone, and even though it hurt Phineas to see Regulus weep whilst talking about his brother, he knew what had happened was definitely for the best.

Moonlight shone through the window and seemed to flow over the beds and the walls, illuminating every single piece of furniture. Phineas watched it turn into ghostly, distorted shadows, just like he had on so many nights before. He was bored. Although he hadn't bothered to check tonight, he knew there was nothing going on in the Headmaster's Office. They would all be sleeping: the other Headmasters and Headmistresses, Dumbledore, the Hat, the Phoenix... He imagined what the boy must look like in his sleep, and wished somebody had thought of putting portraits of him in all the Slytherin boy dormitories. Then, he quickly corrected himself, blushing a little as he realised how imprudent and wrong it was of him to desire such a thing. Regulus was a boy, and a very young one too... People, his own family in particular, would have loathed him for what he was feeling, had he been alive. No, he would have to stay here, alone in the guestroom, waiting for summer, because that was when Regulus would be home again. He would have to wait...

Phineas Nigellus continued to gaze into the moonlit bedchamber, watching spiders build their thin webs in the corners, and the clock ticking away the seconds. He remembered one night, many years ago, when the boy hadn't been able to sleep and he had come here, sitting in front of his portrait while all the stars in the universe seemed to sparkle in his wondrous eyes. _I like you, Phineas_... _You are my friend_...

It occurred to him that, during his lifetime, he had never been considered the friend of anybody. He was no more than a man in a portrait now – and still, Regulus liked him.

**A/N: Yay, I managed to finish this! To be honest, it wasn't that hard... I really like Phineas, with all his flaws, and for some reason I find this ship awesome... ;) I thought I'd write this and then be rid of the idea of Phineas-slash altogether, but I've got a few new ideas already... Which is stupid, because he is just a painting after all...**


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